After Singapore Airlines turbulence accident, flight crews urge buckling up

22/5/2024 11:27

        Buckle up. That is the message from flight attendants and pilots following the severe turbulence encountered by a Singapore Airlines flight on Tuesday that resulted in the death of one passenger and injured dozens of others.
        
        The London-to-Singapore flight hit heavy turbulence over the Indian Ocean and descended 6,000 feet (around 1,800 meters) in about three minutes, before an emergency landing in Bangkok.
        
        Weather forecasting service AccuWeather said satellite and lightning data showed "explosive thunderstorms" developing close to the flight path. It said, developing thunderstorms can leave pilots with little time to react.
        
        Airlines are required by law to switch on the seatbelt sign during takeoff and landing, but carriers have their own procedures to deal with mid-air turbulence.
        A witness on the Singapore Airlines flight said numerous people who were not in their seatbelt were thrown around the cabin when the plane dipped, many hitting their heads.
        
        Singapore Airlines CEO Goh Choon Phong said the plane encountered sudden, extreme turbulence.
        
        Sara Nelson, international president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA representing over 50,000 at 20 airlines, said initial reports seemed to indicate clear-air turbulence, considered to be the most dangerous type of turbulence.
        
        Clear-air turbulence cannot be seen and is virtually undetectable with current technology, making it all the more important for passengers to wear seatbelts whenever seated, she said.